Leaders of seemingly secular Europe are bringing up matters of religion.

11 April 2018

A leading German politician has dug his heels in to the debate over Islam in Germany. In an interview, Alexander Dobrindt said he wasn’t discriminating against Muslims, but that Islam “has no cultural roots in Germany.”

Alexander Dobrindt, the leader of the Christian Social Union’s (CSU) parliamentary party, defended against criticism on Wednesday that his conservative Bavarian party was seeking to marginalize Muslims while doubling down on the stance that “Islam is not part of Germany.”

The comments by a high-ranking politician from the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), threaten to reignite a debate that the German government has been hoping to let peter out for weeks.

What Dobrindt said

Speaking with Funke media group, Dobrindt said:

“Muslims who want to integrate into our society are part of our country, but Islam is not part of Germany.”

Islam “has no cultural roots in Germany and with Sharia as a legal system, it has nothing in common with our Judeo-Christian heritage.”

“No Islamic country on earth has developed a comparable democratic culture like the ones we know in Christian countries.”

Dobrindt also defended a plan to dramatically limit refugee family reunifications, saying: “Refugees should return to their home countries whenever this is possible. Family reunifications can also take place in pacified home regions and not only in Germany.”

Unlike the AfD party, which is considered ‘fringe’ in Germany, the CSU is a major mainstream political force in Germany. More in Germany are publicly questioning Islam, and some are promoting their version of Christianity.

Notice something I wrote about Islam and Germany back in 2010:

The reality is that most Germans do not consider that Islam is part of Germany. The stage is being set for a more forceful German leader (perhaps Karl Guttenberg) to rise up and take this to the next level. If, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared, multiculturalism is a total failure and those from Islamic countries will not totally integrate, the next step may be to insist they integrate or leave. (Thiel B. Germany’s Merkel: Multiculturalism a Total Failure. COGwriter, October 18, 2010)

Germany will be a leader in pushing out Islam (watch also European Unity to be like Hitler?). Muslims will not like this, yet the reality is that more and more in Germany want to do something about the Islamic situation.

Notice information related to France’s President Macron:

2018-04-11

Remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron that he wanted to repair church-state ties caused uproar Tuesday, sparking charges he was tampering with France’s longstanding secular tradition.

The Catholic Church and the state were for centuries virtually indistinguishable in France but the 1789 Revolution and 19th century modernisation saw the two formally separated by a 1905 law.

Macron, who prides himself on tackling difficult issues head-on, told a meeting of bishops Monday that he hoped to repair relations with the Church through a “dialogue of truth”.

Raised in a non-religious family, Macron was baptized a Roman Catholic at his own request when he was 12. His government is now struggling to redefine the role of France’s second most popular religion, following a spate of attacks by Islamist militants that have killed around 240 people since early 2015.

Many top leaders in Europe are making Catholic-supporting statements. This will increase in the future.

Will we see something in Europe again, like the old “Holy Roman Empire,” where some form of Catholicism has a lot of influence?

Notice something from back in 1948, 1981, and 1985:

It was the SERMON that shot forth that spark, impregnating the minds of world leaders in attendance. This amazing sermon was delivered by a foremost radio speaker of the Catholic Church, Bishop Duane G. Hunt of Salt Lake City … Without the guidance, supervision, authority of the Catholic Church, he told these men, they were laboring in vain …

This was the Roman Catholic bid to resurrect the so-called “HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE” ! And PROPHECY says they will succeed! … At the psychological time, the pope will step in … Thru this political movement, he will UNIFY … nations in Europe. It will be a “The UNITED STATES OF EUROPE,” but that probably will never become its official name. (Armstrong HW. Now It Can Be Told…The Plain Truth, December 1948, pp. 2,5).

The Christian Science Monitor’s Joseph C. Harsch, of the reconstitution of what he calls “the whole of classic Europe.”

“Classic Europe” is nothing other than a new European alignment along the lines of the old Holy Roman Empire, under the Catholic aegis.

Thus, the final resurrection of the Roman Empire may be closer than you think. This will not be good news for the United States — decoupled from Europe — or Britain either. As British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher recently told President Reagan: “We in Britain stand with you.” And a British Foreign Office source told the Associated Press: “She is convinced that Britain’s lot lies with America.” (Hogberg G. AMERICA and EUROPE The Falling Out Begins! Plain Truth, June-July 1981)

“And in the days of these kings…”–it is here speaking of the ten toes, part of iron and part of brittle clay. This, by connecting the prophecy with Daniel 7, and Revelation 13 and 17, is referring to the new UNITED STATES OF EUROPE that is now forming, out of the European Common Market, before your very eyes! Revelation 17:12 makes plain the detail that it shall be a union of TEN KINGS OR KINGDOMS that (Rev. 17:8) shall resurrect the old ROMAN EMPIRE. So, mark carefully the time element! “In the days of these kings”–in the days of these then nations or groups of nations that shall, IN OUR TIME, resurrect briefly the Roman Empire… (The members of the European Common Market are probably not the same ten that will resurrect the Holy Roman Empire.) (Armstrong HW. Mystery of the Ages. Dood, Mead & Company, New York, 1985, pp. 301,302-303)

In the 21st century, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now former Pope Benedict XVI, interestingly wrote of Europe as essentially the Holy Roman Empire:

In the process of replacing boundaries, the conceptual continuity with the preceding Mediterranean continent…was assured by a theological interpretation of history: in connection with the Book of Daniel, the Roman Empire—renewed and transformed by the Christian faith—was considered to be the final and permanent kingdom in the history of the world in general, and therefore the association of peoples and states that was taking shape was defined as the permanent Sacrum Imperium Romanum [Holy Roman Empire]. (Raztinger J. Europe today and tomorrow: addressing the fundamental issues. Translated by Michael Miller. Ignatius Press, 2007, p. 13)

Here is a map of the old Holy Roman Empire:

Holy Roman Empire 1250 (Alphathon)

While based in central Europe, it also had lands that are now in what are considered western and eastern portions of Europe.

It should be mentioned that the idea of a revived Holy Roman Empire is not just the views of religious writers, secular ones have promoted it as well as the following news items attest to:

THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE CAN HELP INSPIRE A DIFFERENT EUROPEAN UNION

24.01.2016

Germany’s past casts a long shadow. … we should look back in time to when Germany was part of the Holy Roman Empire. …

The empire scarcely seems worthy of discussion today. If it has any resonance at all, it is usually thanks to Voltaire’s quip that it was “neither holy, Roman nor an empire”. Founded by Charlemagne on Christmas Day 800, the empire appeared to go into decline almost immediately until being swept away as an obsolete irrelevance by Napoleon in 1806. …

The negative interpretation of the empire rests on seeing it as a series of failed attempts to create a German nation state. In this version of history, a succession of monarchs tried to create central institutions capable of imposing a uniform system of rule, only to be thwarted by the selfish ambitions of petty German princes.

In fact, the empire was never simply “Germany”. It covered what is now Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, the Czech Republic, much of Italy, and parts of France and Poland. …

We expect empires to have a clear and stable core inhabited by an imperial people that imposes its will on peripheral regions. But the Holy Roman Empire had no core, because it never possessed a clear centre of government or even an official capital. Instead, power was always multiple and plural. The management of daily life was devolved to more local powers.

The most significant change across the centuries was not a progressive fragmentation of an originally centralised power, as previous generations of historians believed.

So, the above article basically thinks that a confederation with a lot of local power is what can drive the European Union. But this left out religion and overlooks biblical prophecy.

Now consider something from the European Union in 2015:

The Holy See is the governing institution of the Catholic Church. The Pope is the head of both the Vatican City State – a sovereign, independent territory – and the Holy See. The Holy See is a sovereign entity under international law, conducting its own international policy and maintaining diplomatic relations with over 170 states around the world. It is a member of, or observer in, many international organisations.

The Holy See and the EU established diplomatic relations in 1970. The first Head of EU Delegation to the Holy See was appointed in 2006.

The EU and the Holy See maintain a dialogue on a number of European and global issues, such as:

Throughout the Middle Ages, leaders considered the Church at Rome to be God’s chosen instrument in spiritual matters. The Holy Roman Empire was regarded as God’s chosen political organization over Western Christendom. Pope and Emperor were regarded as God’s vice-regents on earth. This intimate alliance of Church and State served the needs of both institutions. The Empire exercised its political and military powers to defend religion and enforce internal submission through religious uniformity. The Church, in turn, acted as a glue for Europe, holding together the differing nationalities by the tie of common religion.

This ideal in Church-State relations was never completely realized, as we have seen in the frequent conflicts between Emperors and Popes … numerous revivals of the Roman Empire have arisen in Europe in the centuries since the fall of ancient Rome.

In Revelation 17, these revivals are represented by the seven heads of a wild animal. Six have already occurred, from Justinian to Mussolini. One last restoration of this great political system is yet to arise. This confederated Europe will be an immense political, military and economic power — a great Third Force in world affairs, a superpower in its own right. Prophecy further reveals that this powerful church-state union will be composed of “ten horns” — meaning 10 nations or groups of nations (Rev. l7:3) — under the overall leadership of a single political figure (verse 13). Europe will again have a single political head of state!

Moreover, prophecy foretells that a religious figure of unprecedented power and authority will sit astride the “empire,” directing it as a rider guides a horse (Rev. 17:3). To counter the ongoing spread of atheism, secularism and consumerism, the Vatican — as in centuries past — will be forced to become a major power in the international arena. The political muscle of the Papacy will be reinvigorated. In these turbulent last days of the 20th century, the “spiritual unity” of the Continent — as so often urged by recent Popes — will be realized! (Stump K. The History of Europe and the Church. Ambassador College Publications, 1984)

As far as popes go, Pope Francis does have a plan for a Roman Empire and it includes Europe.

Desmond A. Birch, a Roman Catholic writer, has made the following observations:

Several private prophecies of canonized Saints specifically state that there will be a latter restoration of the Holy Roman Empire and that there will be at least one last Holy Roman Emperor. The authenticity of the authorship of such prophecies of canonized Saints (e.g., St. Hildegard, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Francis of Paula, and St. John Vianney) at least over the last eight hundred years is scholastically unquestionable.

The Great King will be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the reigning Pope … (Birch, DA. Trial, Tribulation & Triumph: Before During and After Antichrist. Queenship Publishing Company, Goleta (CA), 1996, pp.281, 555)

Catholics expect that a pope will make someone the leader of the future ‘Holy Roman Empire.’

The Bible shows such an alliance will take place. And what is prophesied sounds like a type of revival of the old Holy Roman Empire:

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:1-4)

Now, while this could also be referring to a leader who all thought was eliminated (someone like Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg comes to mind), various Church of God leaders have felt that this is the old ‘Holy Roman Empire’ that was considered dead but revived in the end.

This will be a politico-religious, church-state, alliance as the following show:

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.

12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.

14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. (Revelation 13:11-15)

So, a political-religious alliance will happen and people will be forced to at least feign some type of false religion.

Notice more about it:

1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,

2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.

5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

7 But the angel said to me, “Why did you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns.

8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

9 Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.

10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. …

18 And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:1-10,18)

In particular, and even prior to that end, the Bible shows that it will not end well for Israel (Daniel 11:31), the USA & its Anglo-Saxon allies (Daniel 11:39; see also USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses), the Islamic countries of the Middle East and North Africa (Daniel 11:40-43), or even Europe (Daniel 11:44). The Bible also shows that the supporters of the Beast will turn against the Church of the City of Seven Hills (Revelation 17:16-17).

But despite that, many in Europe want some revival of the old ‘Holy Roman Empire,’ and some version will re-emerge.

Emmanuel Macron and Alexander Dobrindt do not realize where this will all end.

Prophecy shows that Europe, at least on the surface, will become less secular for a time.